The point of a spring football scrimmage is to get a good look at the young players for the upcoming season.

For West Texas A&M, sticking out as a returning underclassman was just a bit harder than usual in Thursday night’s Maroon vs. White Spring Game at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium.

The Buffs will feature 48 upperclassmen next season, so these young guys were just looking to impress the coaches.

“The best thing I saw tonight was the enthusiasm and the hitting and the spirit,” WT coach Don Carthel said. “A lot of mistakes were made out there but that’s kind of expected when you mix people in on a scrimmage. I liked what I saw.”

It was a transfer out of Northern Illinois who may have made the biggest impact. Junior Anthony Johnson made several spectacular catches en route to six catches for 100 yards.

“It was pretty exciting to get back out there and do what I like to do most, play football,” Johnson said. “I just put my hand to the ball and brought it in. Luckily it got to me.”

Carthel said he liked what he saw from Johnson.

“Anthony Johnson looked really special at receiver,” Carthel said. “That’s going to really help us on the outside. He was definitely a bright spot.”

While quarterback Dustin Vaughn didn’t throw to Johnson, he said Johnson could be a contributor this season.

“There were some guys that stepped up, which was nice to see,” Vaughn said. “We needed some guys to step up and guys were able to do that. Anthony Johnson did a great job, although he was on the opposite team. We need a guy that can do that. He showed he can be that guy. Hopefully he keeps it up and can do that for us.”

For all the strong performances, there were some bad ones for some young and old players. Snapping was a problem for both squads as there were several bad snaps that led to fumbles and double-digit losses. Carthel said he doesn’t expect it to be an issue.

“It’s just practice and reps,” Carthel said. “They are both young centers that are having to snap the ball this spring. They will get better. We might keep them 30 minutes after practice. Whatever it takes, we will get it corrected.’’

Vaughn said it was good to play again and the Buffs have a few things to correct.

“It was a blast to get back out there,” Vaughn said. “I think we learned that we have some good things but we have some things that we really need to work on on both sides of the ball. We just need to keep going, come back after spring break and take as much out of this as we can and learn from it.”

The surprise play of the night came from redshirt freshman quarterback Preston Rabb. Rabb ran for two TDs, including a 39-yard run.

“It was impressive to see ol’ Preston Rabb run,” Carthel said. “That’s a 6-7 quarterback nobody could catch from behind.’’